Cave diving has captured the attention of humanity for thousands of years with the practice itself becoming a popular hobby not just for individuals but branching as far as Boy Scouts to college students. In recent years, however, the number of fatalities from cave diving has increased, which poses the question of the safety of cave diving and whether it should be regulated.
Junior Kira Burns said, “100% because you should have some form of training for that. Most people don’t know what they’re doing when they go into those caves, and so it should be regulated. They overestimate their level of experience”
One of the most famous examples of cave diving gone wrong is the Nutty Putty Cave incident, which occurred in Utah on November 24, 2009. A man named John Edward Jones, who had previously gone caving, entered the Nutty Putty Cave, which was advertised as beginner-friendly. Boy Scouts have even entered its tight crevices in the past.
The Nutty Putty Cave is famous for a section of the cave known as, “the birth canal,” an extremely tight squeeze that would eventually lead to a room that was around 10 feet tall where the climber could breathe and move around freely before making their way back out the way they came. During his venture, Jones entered what he thought was the birth canal, but in reality, he was in uncharted territory known as Ed’s Push, a section of the cave that was unknown to him and wasn’t explored. He quickly found himself in an incredibly dangerous situation, sliding deeper and deeper and eventually reached a dead end, which left him completely upside down and unable to get out. Rescuers were called and worked tirelessly for almost 28 hours attempting to rescue John, before he eventually succumbed to his condition and died of a cardiac arrest due to being upside down for a long amount of time. Even after Jones had passed, rescuers were still unable to retrieve his body. His remains are still in the caves to this day, serving as a haunting reminder to all of the dangers of cave diving and how you should never put yourself in risky situations.
The incident itself is an outstanding example of the dangers of cave diving. It also shows just how difficult rescue efforts can be for these types of emergencies.
Junior Logan Jenkins said, “The restrictions that should be placed could be stuff such as needing a permit proving that you are not just some random person with no experience. If not a permit, then at the very least they can make people sign a waiver letting them be well aware of the dangers beforehand. But even then it’s not going to stop people from making stupid decisions.”
Cave exploration, though exciting for some people, should only be left up to experts with an ample amount of experience.
